The Wildlife Pond Guide
All wildlife oriented natural garden ponds should have at least one side gently sloping up and out of the water creating a ‘beach’ effect. This is essential for small animals, allowing them easy and natural access. Its also an ideal damp ground area where bog plants and insects will thrive. Areas of direct sunlight should be avoided, you could have problems with green water & temperature fluctuations. Semi-shade is best for all.
Always make your pond as large as you possibly can with a minimum depth of 18 inches and as many sloping sides as possible! A butyl rubber pond liner would be the best material to use in construction, this can be covered with pebbles or soil around the edges to create a very convincing natural look.
Planting
Effective planting plays a big part in creating biodiversity in your new wildlife habitat. Marginal plants such as Irises, marsh marigolds etc go around the edges and create a fantastic habitat for frogs, toads and dragonflies. Oxygenating plants such as elodea and hornwort grow underwater and provide the perfect lodgings for dragonfly nymphs, water beetles, boatmen, snails etc. There are many very beautiful pond plants to be found, get down to your local water garden centre!
Maintenance
As your plants establish themselves and grow they will require periodic ‘thinning out’, especially oxygenators, which can grow very rapidly. Aim to keep roughly a third of the surface area clear. Keep an eye out for any residents who may be in the thinnings, rescue if needed. Excess oxygenators make great compost.
Green water is common in many new ponds and is no cause for concern, as your pond achieves a natural balance it should pass. For stubborn cases try a barley straw mini bale. It comes in a net bag and should be placed just below the surface and is very effective at reducing green water. Avoid chemical algicides at all costs, these can be devastating to small creatures. They go against the very ethic of a wildlife pool.
Who Will Live Here?
Your wildlife pond is a great alternative to a more stylised garden pond and will attract a vast array of fauna from frogs, toads and birds to dragonflys, beetles, boatmen and snails, and many others. Fish should really be avoided unless your pond is large, they eat everyone else! You will be amazed by the amount and variety of creatures that will soon call your wildlife pond home.
